Pronunciation

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Pronunciation

It is important to understand the common sounds found in Spanish.

Vowel sounds

Vowel sounds make sure we are understood correctly in Spanish.
Unlike English, all Spanish vowel sounds are short.
Join vowels with consonants to create short words, and practice saying them out loud. For example:
- MA
- ME
- MI
- MO
- MU

Differences in pronunciation from English

‘J’ sounds like ‘h’ or 'hey' but from the throat.
‘ll’ sounds like the ‘y’ sound in English.
‘Z’ sounds like ‘th’ in thanks.
‘rr’ means you have to roll the 'r'! Put the tongue on the roof of your mouth to try.
In Spanish we also roll the ‘r’ at the beginning of a word, ie. Roberto (Rrroberto).

Pronunciation rules

The ‘ñ’ accent sounds like a ‘ny’, eg. España sounds like Espanya.
The letter 'H' is always silent at the beginning of a word, e.g. hotel = 'otel'.
'll', 'cc', 'rr', 'nn' and 'ee' are the only letters that can be doubled.
- You can remember this with CaRoLiNa - the only consonants that can be doubled are in this word!
'Ph' does not exist in Spanish - it is replaced with 'f', e.g. elefante, telefono, foto.

4 ways to pronounce the letter 'C'

When followed by an 'O' or 'A' it is hard like a 'K', e.g. Córdoba, Cádiz.
When followed by 'U' it is pronounced like 'Qu' in queen, e.g. la cuenta.
When followed by ‘I’ and ‘e’ it is pronounced as a ‘th’, e.g. situación is pronounced ‘sit-u-a-thion’.
When it doubled, 'cc', it is a hard sound, e.g. di-rec-ción (Dee-reck-thion).

Use of the accent in Spanish

The ´ accent in Spanish is used to stress a vowel in Spanish.
It is important to pronounce the accent correctly, otherwise the word can take on a different meaning.
Eg. 'esta', means a totally different thing to 'está'.
- 'Esta' means 'this' (when talking about a feminine noun), and 'está' means 'he/she/it is'.
- The only way to tell the difference in meaning is through the pronunciation of the accent.

1Phonics/Alphabet/Spellings

1.1Phonics / Alphabet / Spellings

1.1.1Phonics

1.1.2Pronunciation

1.1.3Recognising Words

2You, Family & Home

2.1My Family & I

2.1.1Name & Age

2.1.2Colours

2.1.3Hair & Eyes

2.1.4Adjective Endings Match the Gender of the Noun

2.1.5Physical Appearance

2.1.6Personality

2.1.7Family Members

2.1.8Eldest, Youngest

2.1.9Other Family Members

2.1.10Family Life - Listening

2.1.11Describing Others

2.1.12Nationalities

2.1.13Being Polite

2.1.14Introductions

2.1.15Pets

2.1.16At The Post Office

2.1.17Letters

2.1.18Opinion Phrases

2.1.19End of Topic Test - My Family & I

2.2Time

2.2.1Numbers: 1-10

2.2.2Numbers: 11-20

2.2.3Numbers: 21-29

2.2.4Numbers: 30-100

2.2.5What Time Is It?

2.2.6Days of the Week

2.2.7Months of the Year

2.2.8Frequency & Timings

2.3Home

2.3.1Where Do You Live?

2.3.2My Village

2.3.3Daily Routine

2.3.4Chores

2.3.5Home - Listening

2.3.6End of Topic Test - Home

2.4Body & Illness

2.4.1The Head

2.4.2Body

2.4.3Body - Listening

2.4.4Illness

2.4.5Recovery

2.4.6Illness - Listening

2.4.7End of Topic Test - Body & Illness

2.5Relationships

2.5.1Important Verbs

2.5.2Relationships

2.5.3Estar

2.5.4Relationships Vocab - Spanish to English

2.5.5Relationships Vocab - English to Spanish

2.5.6Relationships - Translations

2.5.7Relationships - Listening

2.6Customs & Festivals in Spanish Speaking Countries

2.6.1Customs & Festivals

2.6.2Regular AR Verbs in the Preterite Tense

2.6.3Festivals Vocab - Spanish to English

2.6.4Festivals Vocab - English to Spanish

2.6.5Festivals - Translations

2.6.6Customs & Festivals - Listening

3School & Jobs

3.1School

3.1.1School Subjects

3.1.2Future Study

3.1.3School Routine

3.1.4In School

3.1.5In The Classroom

3.1.6School - Listening

3.1.7End of Topic Test - School

3.2Jobs

3.2.1Jobs

3.2.2Motivation

3.2.3Jobs - Listening

3.2.4End of Topic Test - Jobs

4Town, Shopping, Food, Drink

5Free Time

6Holiday

6.1Holiday

6.1.1Countries

6.1.2Going on Holiday

6.1.3Your Journey

6.1.4Activities on Holiday

6.1.5Bookings

6.1.6Accommodation

6.1.7Good Weather

6.1.8Bad Weather

6.1.9Holiday - Listening

6.1.10End of Topic Test - Holidays

7The World Around Us

7.1The World Around Us

7.1.1Volunteering

7.1.2Human Rights

7.1.3The Environment

8Present Tense

9Past Tense

10Future Tense

10.1Immediate Future

10.1.1Immediate Future

10.2Future

10.2.1Regular AR Verbs

10.2.2Regular ER Verbs

10.2.3Regular IR Verbs

10.2.4Irregular Verbs

10.2.5Future - 'Hacer'

10.2.6Future - 'Decir'

11Conditional

11.1Conditional Tense

11.1.1Regular AR Verbs

11.1.2Regular ER Verbs

11.1.3Regular IR Verbs

11.1.4Conditional - 'Hacer'

11.1.5Conditional - 'Decir'

11.1.6Irregulars in the Conditional

12Grammar

12.1Articles

12.1.1Definite Article

12.1.2Uses of the Definite Article

12.1.3Indefinite Article

12.1.4Uses of the Indefinite Article

12.1.5Infinitives

12.2Adjectives

12.2.1Gender & Position

12.2.2The Position of Adjectives

12.2.3Adjectives that Change Endings

12.2.4Adjectives that Remain the Same

12.2.5Adjectives 2

12.2.6'Ser'

12.2.7'Estar'

12.2.8Grande & Bueno

12.2.9Plurals Ending in a Consonant

12.2.10Plurals Ending in a Vowel

12.2.11Possession

12.2.12Indefinite

12.2.13Complex Comparisons

12.3Nouns

12.3.1Common Noun Endings

12.3.2Other Noun Endings

12.3.3People & Animals

12.3.4Nouns that Stay the Same

12.3.5Nouns Used for Masculine or Feminine

12.3.6Masculine & Feminine Nouns

12.3.7Masculine Exceptions

12.3.8Feminine Exceptions

12.3.9Noun Endings that Are Usually Feminine

12.3.10Noun Endings that Are Usually Masculine

12.3.11Masculine Nouns

12.3.12Masculine & Feminine Nouns

12.3.13Plural Nouns that End in a Vowel

12.3.14Plural Nouns that End in a Consonant

12.4Imperative

12.4.1The Positive Imperative

12.4.2The Negative Imperative

12.4.3Irregular Imperatives

12.5Prepositions

12.5.1Common Prepositions

12.5.2'A' and 'De'

12.5.3'Para'

12.5.4'Por'

12.6Pronouns

12.6.1This, These

12.6.2Reflexive

12.7Negatives

12.7.1Negatives

12.7.2'Nada'

12.8Questions

12.8.1Asking Questions Without Question Words

12.8.2Question Words

12.8.3Question Words 2

12.9Conjunctions

12.9.1What Are Conjunctions??

12.9.2Some Common Conjunctions

12.9.3Connectors

12.10Adverbs

12.10.1Forming

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